Eliana,
Valentine’s Day is coming up, and there’s this guy in my anthropology lecture that I kinda sorta like, and I thought it might be nice to get him something for Valentine’s Day. I know we’re not handing out cards in kindergarten anymore, but I can still be romantic. Is there anyway I can go about doing this without completely creeping him out? I want him to notice me, but I don’t want to scare him away. How do I tell him how I feel without leaving myself completely vulnerable to being crushed?
-Pounding Heart

Dear Pounding Heart,
It’s adorable that you want to make a romantic gesture, but I would be very careful in this situation. The first factor you want to consider is how well you know this guy. Is he a friend, someone you speak to occasionally, or is he just the cute guy in your class that you daydream about, but have never met before? If you are friends, you can get him a small gift or a card that lets him know you want to take things to the next level. If he is an acquaintance, you can send him a flirty little something or other so that he gets the message that you’re interested. If you don’t know him at all, there is not really a good way I can think of to send him something without it seeming really creepy. In that case, he might not know who you are, so sending him something out of the blue will come across as a tad stalker-ish. The above is just my opinion, so definitely make your own judgment about what is appropriate. If you are worried about getting crushed, I would keep whatever you do on the small side. That way, it’s more low risk if he doesn’t feel the same way.
I hope this helps. Happy early Valentine’s Day!
-Eliana

Dear Eliana,
Both of my roommates came down with the flu. How do I deal with this safely?
-Sick Room in Shapiro

Dear Sick Room in Shapiro,
The flu is the worst, and as you probably already know, you should avoid it. First thing first, I hope you got your flu shot this year, because that helps a lot. If you haven’t had it yet, you can go to the Health Center or certain drug stores to get that done. Next, make sure you are washing your hands and sanitizing your room as much as possible. Also, avoid touching your roommates at all costs. If you are feeling super paranoid, you can also see if a healthy friend will let you stay with them until the danger passes. At the same time, you can be a good person by bringing your roommates soup and medicine.
Stay healthy!
-Eliana

Dear Eliana,
I’m in a lot of groups on campus, and that means I tend to be rather busy. Things go all right for a while, but I inevitably end up forgetting something important I need to do. How can I keep track of all my commitments?
-Overbooked

Dear Overbooked,
There are so many fun extracurricular activities at Brandeis that it is easy to get involved in all of them without realizing you don’t have the time. One option is to drop something. The sad reality is that there are only so many hours in the day, and aside from extracurriculars, there are also classes to worry about. If you are having a hard time keeping track of everything you have to do, the best thing for you right now might be to take a break from one of your groups. If all of your groups are extremely important to you, you can take on a less active role by just being a member rather than a leader with lots of responsibility. Another part of it is just being organized. Get a planner and write down everything you need to do so you don’t miss anything. Make schedules for yourself so you can stay on top of things.
Go get things done!
-Eliana

Eliana,
After last week’s double snow day, I never took the time to clean off my car, and now the snow and ice has compacted on top of it to create an impenetrable force field. I’ve been using the BranVan to get back and forth to campus, but I’m going to need to be able to get in my car in order to head back home for the break, and I don’t think its going to thaw anytime soon. What’s the best way to chip away at the ice? I can’t even open the backdoor to get the scraper. Can I just set fire to the car?
-Frozen

Dear Frozen,
I really don’t know much about cars, but from what I’ve heard, setting fire to the car might chip the paint a bit. To answer your other question, I searched on Google “how to get ice off a car” and got some tips that I will share with you. The first website said that you should smack the hood of your car with your hand (not a hammer or piece of wood) to break up a thin layer of ice. It also said to start the car and turn on the heater and defrosters so things can melt, but keep an eye on it so your engine doesn’t overheat. You can also pour winter windshield washer fluid on the windows to melt the ice. Some other suggestions I came across were using an old credit card to scrape ice and some other homemade concoctions that will melt the ice. I hope these help! I also highly suggest checking out Google yourself, because people have a lot of ideas and I’m afraid of telling you something wrong.
-Eliana

Dear Readers, If you can’t already tell, this is an advice column, and I’m here to help you with any questions that you might have! If you want more exciting questions, send them in, and I will do my best to answer them. Whether it’s relationships, social problems or just life in general—send them here. I can’t wait to start hearing about everyone’s problems (how often do you hear people say that? Oh yeah, never). Send questions to Elianasadvice@gmail.com.
Thanks! -Eliana